Difference in Opinion

I read a review (aintitfcool.com, I believe) for “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” that offered a belief that a genre is dead once it becomes the target of parody. While I can’t argue the truth of that statement, I can share a little truth from my beliefs concerning this movie, and a side-note—I don’t think that this movie has killed the rock-and-roll biopic. If nothing else, this movie has increased my desire to see more parodies of famous people—especially eccentric rock stars, or “real” movies, if Hollywood chooses to deliver.

Last year gave us at least three “penis-joke” titled movies (the other two being “Mr. Woodcock,” and “Balls of Fury”), and it’s hard to expect much from a movie that goes for a dick joke before the film even starts to flicker, as it’s often a sign of a writer searching for humor.

Either way you look at this statement, in reference to the last paragraph, Walk Hard didn’t disappoint me.

I first must say that I didn’t watch the theatrical version of this film, as I seldom choose to spend $30 to watch a comedy in the theater. I prefer to rent a comedy for $4.00, and then buy $10 in Taco Bell (or grab a pizza) on the way home. That way, I can get drunk and smoke cigarettes at my leisure, which often makes comedies more entertaining and bearable (especially if they turn out bad). I’ve had a strong fear of theater movies ever since “LoTR: Return of the King,” which teased me for over half-an-hour through its “ending” while I had to pee and smoke. I almost left, knowing that the best action was over, and that I could always finish it at home down the road… but alas, I was faithful to that one, though my bladder still hurts.

The best part of Walk Hard was that I didn’t blow $20 on tickets (a friend let me borrow it, which was extra cool), $9 on soda, and $ 6 on popcorn (plus candy, which makes me sick when I eat it with pop-corn, and thus abstain from), and I took at least 5 smoke-breaks without missing a beat when I got back.

Action, sci-fi, horror… those films seem best for the big screen, as size can matter, and theaters really pump up the sound. In the case of Dewey Cox, I’m glad I made the decision to watch it at home (more on that, later). This being a DVD, we chose to watch the “super-long blah-de-de-blah” (can’t remember what they called it) version of the film, and I’m pretty sure that a large part of the film that was re-inserted (no pun intended) involved a drug-induced orgy scene with a plethora of penises bouncing around (this is “later” I spoke of, and I must admit, I have no desire to see a 5 foot-long Johnson on the big screen, ever). I guess that’s alright, as there were a lot of boobs present as well (not talking about the acting, by the way…).

I do remember my mom’s victory shout when Predator 2 came out and graced the world with a shot of a South American drug-lord pecker, so I guess “This one goes out to the one who loves penis.”

I hope you didn’t mind that… felt like ripping off R.E.M for a moment…

Strangely, there appeared to be no special features on the disk I had… not a single blooper, which disappointed me, but I am the sort that gets off on being entertained to the last ounce, and my sort might indeed be rare.

I was pleasantly surprised by Walk Hard, however, despite the odd opening montage that gave the back-story into who Dewey Cox (“The Boy Who Didn’t Die,” not to be confused with Harry Potter) was going to be, and why he strove to become who he became.

While the film title most reminds me of “Walk the Line,” the film more closely follows “Ray,” in the beginning, with a twist of “The Doors” in the middle, and a little Johnny Cash ending. To me, it was the later part of the beginning, the middle, and ending of this film that gave me the best laughs, as there were several “cameos” by notable celebrities, such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, and the Beatles. In my mind, these were the best parts of the film.

Say whatever you will of this admission, but I loved Forrest Gump (which will soon have it’s sequel, if rumors are true), so some of my favorite parts in that film were the times when Gump met famous people and interacted with them. It’s kind of the same thing here, but as a “short-bus version”.

Quote me on that, I did.

The best part of the film took place when Dewy Cox and company did L.S.D. with the Beatles, and it’s classic in my opinion. It reminded me of the peyote trip in “Beavis and Butt-head Do America,” for some reason, though much more tame than one would expect after the previous content of the movie. I guess that made it all the more funny in my mind.

The only major flaw I found in this film was the lack of anything regarding the 80’s and 90’s, which I think a vast majority of the audience would have loved, being from that period of time in music. I would have loved to see Dewey Cox do Nirvana or Metallica… maybe even a band with more fondness of hair or intensity. Gwar? Marilyn Manson? And where was the Rap? Not that I needed it, but it would have been awesome.

With that said… if they made a sequel…maybe “Dewey Cox: The Lost years,” I’d watch it, and I guess that’s the best compliment I can give. I know that sequels are often worse (aside from Aliens) than their fore-bearers, but this movie was good enough that a step down would still be good enough for a laugh.

Sadly, Gryph couldn’t be here today, but she wanted everyone to know that Walk Hard reminded her of a really long fart-joke movie from the 80’s (Ace Ventura, in her words), so I guess we had some of the same opinions. I just happen to like fart-jokes, though I was bored before Ace Ventura 2 was over with, so maybe we should skip on the sequel for this one.

Oh… for the important stuff… Judd Apatow was a co-writer on this, and John C. “Shake ‘n Bake” Reilly starred in this.

4/5, one and a half thumbs up, or an, 8/10. Take ‘yer pick.